Page 84 of Covert Vengeance

Yeah, curious enough to about give her a heart attack. “But you’ve thought about it?”

He smiled, cupped her cheek in one hand. “I have.”

“Already?” Her voice was almost a squeak.

Now he chuckled. “Mmhmm. Because we’re never going to find someone who understands us the way we do. We’re meant for each other.”

Her heart rolled over in her chest. “Well, that’s…true.”

He grinned, the glint in his eye eroding the seriousness of the moment and her apprehension began to fade. “Think about it,belleza.”

Well, now it wasallshe could think about.

Elope with Jesse? It was insane. Way too fast, considering how short a time they’d been together. Or known each other.

Unthinkable.

And yet…it felt right. Deep down inside her, she knew it was right.

She loved him. He was hers, she was his, period. Theyweremeant for each other. Meant to be together. And if there was anyone courageous and nuts enough to take her on for a lifetime, it was Jesse. So if getting married seemed insane… She’d done crazier things in her life than pledge herself to such a wonderful, caring man.

The smile started off in her heart and spread upward, joy streaking through her as the corners of her lips turned upward. “Yeah, Cordova. I’ll think about it.”

He grinned and dragged her to him for a deep, intimate kiss that made her thoughts scatter and her body pulse with need.

A minute later, a distinct chime from nearby snapped her out of the euphoric haze.

Excitement shot through her, because those particular three notes meant only one thing. “Lady Ada found something,” she blurted, grabbing her phone from atop the picnic basket.

Jesse groaned and settled back against the blanket to watch her. “This is so not romantic.”

“It is to me,” she argued. Humiliation momentarily forgotten, she read the message.

Yes, this is it.

A satisfied smile curved her lips, and she distractedly tapped Jesse’s leg. “Hurry. I need to check this out.”

Back at the manor house, she found Kiyomi sitting out in the garden with Trinity.

“How was the picnic?” Kiyomi asked. The bruising in her face was almost gone. She’d come out of her shell a bit more since Amber had gotten back, but she seemed to be most comfortable hanging around with Trinity. Maybe because they had similar training and backgrounds as seductress operatives.

“Good.” Amber hid a smile as she thought of her and Jesse eloping someday. She could picture it. The two of them standing in a field or a garden somewhere, maybe here at Laidlaw Hall. Megan would be there to witness it, and maybe Ty as well.

“Rudely interrupted,” Jesse put in, carrying the basket through the door into the kitchen. Her gorgeous and insanely sexy man. What an incredible thought. How had she gotten so lucky? “She got a hit from Lady Ada, and that was that. She ditched me right then and there.”

Not exactly, but it was a hell of a lot better than saying Megan had seen them—

Nope. That needs to be deleted from memory.

She blew out a breath and headed straight for the stairs, all but bursting with excitement and happiness. Everything she’d never known she wanted was coming true, the promise of even more was on the horizon, and it was incredible. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything important.”

But if it was what she thought it was, then it was definitely important.

Lady Ada had pride of place on the antique desk near the window in the bedroom she and Jesse were now sharing. Amber opened her up, went through her usual security measures, and opened the new files.

Various news reports and chatter popped up, about a thread she’d been monitoring closely. In her efforts to find the missing Valkyries, she’d put all her resources and investigative skill to use. And this new evidence seemed pretty damn conclusive to her.

Amber smiled at the grainy image on screen. “Hey there. Finally got ya.” At least, she thought she did. She’d have to double check with Megan and Kiyomi to be certain, however.

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